


disorient

by double-bubble-discourse-queen (liquidbutteralternative)



Category: Free!
Genre: Free! Kink Meme, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Whump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-11
Updated: 2014-10-11
Packaged: 2018-02-20 18:38:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,368
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2438756
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/liquidbutteralternative/pseuds/double-bubble-discourse-queen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Momo sucked in a breath and dipped under the water, shifting onto his back and kicking himself off the wall. Stars immediately exploded in his sightline, silver and dazzling, obscuring the high ceiling.</p>
            </blockquote>





	disorient

**Author's Note:**

> for the prompt:
> 
> _So in episode 4 our little peach-otter was swimming crazy fast until he bashed his head into the other side of the pool, then he really slowed down. So I'm thinking what if that's actually because he got a concussion? Give me dizzy, nauseous, hurting Momo still trying to swim and looking pathetic._
> 
> _I wouldn't be opposed to the idea that someone notices something is actually wrong and whump turns into h/c, romantic or gen. I'm not picky._

"Can you go one more time?" His teammates were all grinning at him expectantly, the stopwatch ready to reset. 

"Totally! Just leave it to me!" 

Momo yearned to impress his teammates and he'd been doing a pretty damn good job of it until he'd bashed his head into the end of the pool. It totally wasn't his fault, he just wasn't used to the pool, but it was still embarrassing. And he was going to have a good sized goose egg later, he could just feel it. 

But now was rebound time. He'd get back at it so fast that they'd all see what Japan's Legendary Sea Otter was made of! Momo sucked in a breath and dipped under the water, shifting onto his back and kicking himself off the wall. Stars immediately exploded in his sightline, silver and dazzling, obscuring the high ceiling. 

Momo dazedly tried to blink them back. That was weird. And…all of a sudden he felt weird. It was like his limbs were as heavy as manatees and the water had turned to curdled milk, too thick to drag his insanely heavy limbs through and so sickening that it had his stomach roiling like the sea in a storm. 

"Mikoshiba, what gives? You're barely even trying!" 

The words were so distant that Momo could barely process them. When he did, he was beyond confused. He _was_ trying. He tried to say as much, but he was in a fog and couldn't get the words out. His jaw fell slack, tongue an addled obstacle in his mouth. He felt wrong. Not incorrect, but wrong. A pressurized ache set pulsing between the walls of his skull.

A part of him knew he should get out of the pool, even through the enveloping haze that cluttered his senses. But he didn't want to give up. This was the first official practice of the season and Momo had already managed to make himself look like an idiot by swimming straight into the wall. Sure, he'd been dubbed incredible too, but he had to keep demonstrating how incredible he was if he didn't want the idiot part to stick. 

By the time Momo reached the other end, the ache in his head was an exploding staccato of pain and his appendages had gained another ten pounds. Lunch was sloshing around turbulently in his stomach, threatening to come up any second. He braced his palms against the concrete and feebly attempted to pull himself out of the pool. Black crisscrossed his vision and clung to the boarders, the stars making a reappearance as he slipped back down with a little cry. 

Feeling lightheaded and vaguely alarmed on some level, Momo gave it another go and managed to scramble up, knees scraping the slick concrete. He stayed on them and doubled over as his stomach punched itself from the inside. His throat burned as the contents came up. He vomited, coughed and sputtered with a slug of sour remains clinging to his chin. 

Mixed cries of revolt and bewilderment rippled through the poolside, but it was Rin who urgently shouldered his way over and dropped before Momo with a taut frown of concern. 

"You alright?" 

Momo dizzily blinked at him. "I don't feel too alright," he admitted.

"Okay. Take a break. Why don't you go sit on a bench in the locker room?" 

Sitting outside the heavy scent of chlorine and the film of scrutinizing eyes sounded immensely appealing, so Momo nodded. Rin stood and held out a hand to help him up. Momo took it and clumsily got to his feet. He stumbled, nearly slipping in his own puke as another succession of stars romped through his vision. Rin steadied him before he could greet the ground with his face. 

"Whoa, Momo…You okay to stand?" Worry deepened the crease of his captain's mouth.

"Yeah," mumbled Momo. In all truth he wasn't sure and Rin must've realized this because he didn't let go of his shoulders.

"You're really not looking so good," Rin muttered, seemingly more to himself, scarlet eyes narrowing as he studied the underclassman. He squeezed his shoulders gently and then turned back to prompt an apprehensively watching Nitori. "Hey, Ai! Go get the nurse!" 

"Yes, Rin-senpai!" Nitori darted off, the rule against running poolside temporarily forsaken. 

"C'mon, Momo." Rin gently steered him to the locker room and sat him down on a bench, draping a towel over his shoulders.  
"Think you're gonna be sick again?" 

Momo held the seat of the bench and gave an uncertain noise. His stomach still revolved uneasily but upchucking his lunch had quelled it somewhat. At any rate he wasn't sure he had anything left to get rid of. "I don't think so…" 

Rin sat next to him until Nitori arrived breathless with the nurse, a wiry down-to-business kind of woman. She asked those routine questions; what happened, where did it hurt, how bad, could he look here please. 

After peering into his eyes with a penlight, she announced him concussed. 

"Take it easy for the rest of the day," she said, lips pulled in a firm line that was not to be argued with. "Have someone keep an eye on you just in case your symptoms get worse, and get me again if they do." 

Well this sucked. Momo breathed a low sigh. "Okay." 

"I'll take him back to the dorm," Nitori assured her. He looked back to Momo with tender eyes and put a hand on his shoulder. 

"Thanks, Nitori-senpai." 

Nitori's lips briefly twitched up in a sympathetic smile. Rin promised he'd check on them later and then Nitori helped him to the showers.  
Momo felt muzzy, unable to focus as his head dully throbbed. He yielded to his upperclassman's assistance completely, too faint to feel embarrassed when Nitori had to help him get dressed. 

The trek back to the dorm was agonizingly slow. Queasiness still lingered in the pit of Momo's gut and weariness crept up on him with every step. When they finally reached the room, Momo shuffled to Nitori's bed and collapsed, as limp as a wet noodle. He didn't have the stamina to climb the ladder to his own. 

"Do you want me to get you some ice, Momo-kun? Or a cold compress?" offered Nitori. 

"Yeah," mumbled Momo. "It hurts."

Nitori nodded and ducked out of the room. Momo closed his eyes and wondered if it was okay to sleep. He was sure he'd heard somewhere that it was dangerous to sleep with a concussion. Hopefully it wasn't true. He felt spent, drained down to the marrow. He tried to focus on something else, what flavor crepe he might get with the coupon his sister had given him, or how he wanted to go on a stag beetle hunt tomorrow, but his mind was muddled.  
His brain was as slow as a snail between one thought to the next and it was difficult for him to concentrate. 

The door quietly creaked and shut as Nitori returned. 

"This should help," he murmured as he held an ice pack wrapped in a towel out to Momo. 

Momo sat up and took it, gingerly pressing it to the bump that swelled from his scalp. The cool was an instant relief.

"It does, a little. Thanks." He cracked a small smile.

Nitori smiled back. "Just let me know if you need anything else." 

"Nitori-senpai?" 

"Yeah?"

"If I go to sleep, will I die?" 

"Oh, no, no! You're not going to die!" Nitori animatedly waved his hands back and fourth, bright-eyed and perturbed. 

"Are you sure?" 

"I'm sure. Do you want to sleep, Momo-kun? I promise I'll wake you up." Nitori's eyes softened, his mouth curving gently. 

Momo hesitated. "Okay…Can you do something else for me, Senpai?" 

Nitori nodded expectantly. 

"Can you hold my hand?" Momo didn't want to admit it, but this whole thing had him shaken up and he was still wary about sleeping. 

Surprise flickered over Nitori's face before he sat down on the bed and took Momo's hand. He gave it a gentle squeeze and lightly rolled his thumb over it in small circles. 

"You're okay, Momotarou. Rest easy." 

Momo relaxed and closed his eyes.


End file.
